Fire add Brazilian midfielder De Lima

Klopas liked what he saw during tryout with team in training camp

The Fire apparently liked what they saw when Alex Monteiro De Lima was in training camp this year.

Coach Frank Klopas is bringing the 23-year-old Brazilian midfielder aboard in a free-agent transaction announced Thursday.

De Lima, who spent the last two seasons with Swiss club FC Wohlen, will be officially added to the Fire roster when a summer transfer window opens June 27. Terms were not disclosed.

"Alex is a special player that we're proud to add to our roster," Klopas said in a statement. "After having the opportunity to see him play for Wohlen last year, Alex joined us for part of our preseason, where he showed the ability to contribute to our club."

The Sao Paulo native began his pro career with Swiss side FC Gossau in 2009-10 and scored two goals in 18 games. He moved to Wohlen the next year and scored seven goals in 44 games over two seasons.

De Lima played in two exhibitions with the Fire during training.

Payback time? Visiting Seattle hopes to extend an unbeaten streak against the Fire to eight games Saturday. The Sounders are 3-0-3 in six MLS meetings and beat the Fire 2-0 in the U.S. Open Cup final in October before 35,615 fans at CenturyLink Field.

"It's something I've thought about a while: Why can't we beat this team?" Fire forward Patrick Nyarko said after practice Wednesday. "They're very organized, and it's extremely difficult to beat them up there.

"But on Saturday it's different. We're playing on our own ground, and we have to dictate the pace of the game. We have to make them know what we feel when we play on their home turf. We know our crowd is going to be behind us."

"He's getting better but not to the point where he's out here (practicing) yet," Klopas said. "Maybe he (also) sprained the ligaments a little. He's feeling better, but he's still in pain. ... We said two weeks, and hopefully it might be before that."

Memorable goal: The Fire's fastest man now has the team's quickest goal after Dominic Oduro scored 25 seconds into Saturday's 3-2 victory in Toronto. The speedy Oduro scored his third goal of the season and 15th with the Fire on an opportunistic chip shot past goalie Milos Kocic.

It was the fifth-fastest goal in MLS history and beat the old Fire record by two seconds. Jamar Beasley scored 27 seconds into a 7-0 victory over Kansas City on July 4, 2001.